The Fighter's Tears
by Victor Kazil
Summary: A young gear pilot named Blaze starts his own adventures. A young boy, unaware of the real world discovers what it truly means to live.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm plotting world domination, but that doesn't mean I own the rights to Squaresoft or Xenogears. Thank you and have a pleasant morning/afternoon/evening/all of the above

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Walking into the pub with a smirk on his face, Blaze shouted to the bartender to get him "the usual". Being a usual at the pub, the bartender just laughed at him and told him to wait a while. "I'm a tad bit busy in here boy, just have a seat and wait."

"Kerch, you know I'm not good at the waiting game," Blaze laughed.

"Heh, too bad, kid," the bartender Kerch replied. Blaze had a seat with his two friends, Kamella and Brone. They had all known each other since they had started school about fifteen years before. They sat there in the pub just looking at each other. They knew each other so well that it had seemed they didn't need words to communicate. Kamella reached for her pocket. She threw some money at Kerch.

"Kerch, make our drinks come faster. This should be enough motivation." Kerch took one look at how much it was. He rushed with the drinks and took them to the table where Blaze and his friends were sitting. He had almost spilled the drinks.

"Wow Kerch, I've never seen somebody of your size move that fast!" Brone joked. "You must've set off some sort of record."

"For that kind of money, I could've moved ten times faster if I wanted to."

"Just how much money did you give him, Kamella?" Blaze questioned suspiciously.

"Enough money to get our drinks here." The day went on that Blaze and Brone pushed her to tell them how much. Whispering in their ears slowly, their eyes grew wide.

"Th… that's enough to pay for a ge…. You didn't!?" Blaze was panicking.

"Guys, I'm not really into the whole 'Giant Robotic thing Smashes other Giant Robotic thing' gig anymore. It used to be fun, but now it's just getting too violent. Just look what happened to Brone?" She was pointing to Brone's cast that covered his left arm which he broke in his last gear battle. "I sold my gear."

"What? I can't believe this! First Brone breaks his arm and can't pilot his gear, then you sell your gear? You guys are great pilots. We're a team. I need you both for us to be a team. I can't go fighting the Bloodhounds by myself!" He referred to the Bloodhounds, a group of gear pilots who challenged everyone in Dazil. Blaze, Kamella, and Brone fought with them as rivals, and neither side backed down no matter what the circumstances. 

"Listen I know you're mad, but maybe you could just patch things up with the Bloodhounds. Just call it quits on fighting with them." Kamella obviously wanted out of fighting.

"Call it quits? You want me to call it quits? You're crazy, he's crippled. The whole world is turning the wrong way."

"I resent that man. I'd fight alongside of you if I could. Not my fault that this stupid arm is broken," Brone interrupted.

"Maybe if you didn't wear that 'Come here and break my arm!' sign on your gear it wouldn't have happened. I mean, you basically asked for it!" 

"That hurts, it really does."

"Forget it. I need some air. I'm goin' out in my gear and just wasting some fuel. Maybe I'll find something out in the desert." Blaze left the pub and went to his gear, which was ironically named Wildfire. It was given to Blaze by his father just before he died. It bore two long, thin swords as weapons, just as Blaze used in regular combat, but it seemed to be an unwritten rule that everyone uses the same weapon with their gear as they do hand to hand.

Searching the deserts outside of Dazil, Blaze kept muttering the conversation he just had with his friends. "I sold my gear," he imitated. He began to rage out words that he would never admit to saying. "What is this? This isn't me. They're my friends, and I understand what they're going through. Damn I'm so stupid." Suddenly he stopped talking and froze. His eyes stopped blinking and froze. "Bloodhounds."

"Seems like your little friends aren't around Blaze."

"Shut your piehole, Rendin. You and your stupid little club can just leave me alone!"

"Oh, angry are you?" taunted the captain of the Bloodhounds, Rendin. "Why not take that anger out in a gear battle, right now."

"The four of you on me? I knew you were a cheater, but I didn't know you had no pride of fighting whatsoever."

"You take me for granted. Of course it'd just be you against me. My pals here will just be spectators."

"Bull."

"Think what you want. Let's just get this fight moving. I have a date at 3," Rendin bragged.

"Who in their right mind would go out with you? I mean you look like you got hit with an ugly stick, all offense," laughed Blaze.

"Actions speak louder than words my friend. Less words, more action." Rendin's gear, Craze, used two swords just like Wildfire. It was one of the reasons that Blaze and Rendin were such competitive rivals. Craze was a giant blue gear, while Wildfire was a giant red gear. They didn't want to admit it, but their gears looked similar to each other.

Rendin made the first move. He charged at Blaze full force, but Blaze saw it coming. He evaded the attack and slashed at Rending and swung at him with one of his swords. Rendin evaded this attack as well. The two continued on attacking each other but evading each attack as it came. It was as if it were a dance played numerous times before, practiced for the moment that it would be completed perfectly. Not one blow hit either of them. They were dead even. 

"You're pretty good for someone so slow in the head, Rendin. I'll give you that much."

"Not so bad yourself, punk, but this fight's not over. Let's finish this."

"Yea, it's time to finish it off with a bang. Here's a move you've never seen from me before."

"What a lovely present, I'll have to give you one too." Both gears froze. Suddenly it seemed even more like a dance. They were perfectly symmetrical in their movements. Both gears took one step forward, threw one of their swords in the air then charged at the other. The swords they still had clashed and they pushed against each other trying be the stronger one. As they struggled against each other both caught the other sword from the air and both of those blades clashed. It was a mirror image. It was like they were sharing the same mind, thinking the same thoughts. Both were in shock that they performed the same move, but neither would give up. They just stayed pushing for five minutes without talking. The finally one spoke.

"It's over, Blaze," claimed Rendin.

"How do you figure? I'm not down yet."

"Have you forgotten? I don't play fair. The spectators want a little action."

"DAMNIT! Forgot about them. COWARD! Can't fight your own battles! I'll get y- AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Blaze was shot down by the other Bloodhounds. "C…Cheater." His eyes closed. Everything went black.


End file.
